Hundreds believed injured in Texas fertilizer plant blast

WEST, Texas - Hundreds of people were likely injured in a fiery explosion on Wednesday night at a fertilizer plant near Waco, Texas, that damaged or destroyed numerous buildings, including a nursing home, authorities said.

The blast was reported at about 8 p.m. CDT in West, a town of some 2,700 people about 80 miles south of Dallas and 20 miles north of Waco.

A spokesman for the Texas Department of Public Safety, D.L. Wilson, told Reuters the blast had resulted in "probably hundreds of casualties," saying he did not know if any of those were fatalities.

He added that a nearby nursing home collapsed from the explosion and that people were believed to be trapped inside.

A section of Route 4 was shut down Wednesday afternoon after a three-vehicle accident occurred, killing one motorist, according to police officials.

The House and Senate ended the current session deadlocked over the question of who gets to decide when local elections should be cancelled due to bad weather or other adverse conditions, leaving the...